Attachment for doors



.March 14, 1933. KEIL 1,901,303

ATTACHMENT FOR DOORS Filed Dec. 12, 1928 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY F. KEIL, F SGARSDALE, NEW YORK,TA$SIGNOR T0 FRANCIS KEIL & SON,INC.,

' ACORP ORATION OF NEW YORK ATTACHMENT FOR DOORS Application filedDecember 12, 1928 Serial R0. 325,595.

i This invention relates to attachments for doors and more particularly to a, signaling and intercommunicating device adapted to be attached to a house, room, or apartment door. i 1

One of the objects of this invention is to providea signaling and intercommunicating device of simple. and compact construction, easy of manipulation, and adapted to per- 10 init dependable signaling from one side of the door to the} other, as well as observation or intercommunication from the inside of the door to the outside, without necessitating the opening of the door. Another ob- 1 ject' is to provide a device of the abovementioned character which is capable'of rapid and inexpensive manufacture and rapid and inexpensive installation on or attachment to a door. -Another object is to pro- 2 vide a device of the above-mentioned character that will be of substantially self-contained arrangement and construction and present an attractive and ornamental appearance. Another object is to provlde a construction whereby a relatively small ob:

servation opening, or the like, in the door, operable from the interior'of' the door, may be effectively and dependably made inconspicuous and substantially concealed on the exterior of the door. Another object is to provide a construction of the "above-mentioned character which will be welladapted to meet the peculiar conditions of hard practical use. Other, objects will be in part obvione or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in-the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the'application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

s In the accompanying drawing in which is shown one of various possibleembodiments of my invention, p r

Figure 1 is a front view of the device as seen from the outside of the door, the door being only fragmentarily shown;

Figure 2 is a ve rtical central" sectional view.

as seen on the line 2-2 of. Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view as seen fromthe right of Figure 1, certa-inof the parts of the devlce being shown in partially opened relation in order to illustrate the construction and action more clearly. I r

Similar reference characters refer to similar partsthrough'out the severalviews in the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing, a portion of the door is indicatedgat 10 and it is provided wlth an opening indicated at 11 pref erably circular. A ring-like frame member generally indicated at 12 and preferably of substantially T-shaped cross-section is made up of a plate-like member 13 adapted to rest flatwise against the door or doorpanel and a ring-like fiang'e'll: which preferably snugly fits into and projects through the opening 11 in the door panel. The above-mentioned preferred T-shaped cross-section will be seen to be achieved by the ring-like flange 1-4; whlch is overlapped both inside and out side thereof by the plate-like member 13. The plate-like member 13 and the ringmem 5 her 14L are preferably integral and may, for example, be cast in one piece. The plate member 13 is preferably extended toprovide V a suitable number of ears 15 (see Figure 1) through which suitable securing means,su'ch 7 as the, bolt 16, may be passed. V

The bolts 16 will be seen from the drawing to be so passed through the, cars 15 and the panel of the door 10 that the nuts on the bolts are on the inside of the door, whereby tampering with the mounting of the entire device, from the exterior'of the door, is prevented. 7

The plate member 13 has an opening 17 therein of sufiicient expanse to permit, for example, convenient ease of substantial range of observation therethrough from the inside to the outside of the door, it being understood that the device is. mounted at a, convenientheight to give ready and con-' venient access, from the inside of the door, to the device for observation purposesfi-This opening 17 is preferably covered by a suit" able plate of glass 18, the arrangement and will be more clearly described hereinafter. The opening 17 in the front plate 13 may be of any suitable or convenient shape but preferably is given a shape substantially as shown in Figure 1. The opening 17 will be seen to be substantially in the form of a cross, the arms of which merge into each other by gradual curvature of the bounding side of one arm into the boundingside of an adjacent arm. There is thus provided not only a graceful and attractive appearance butalso a construction giving substantial range of vision in both horizontal and vertical planes, all without exposing a large area of glass. The glass 18 underneath the plate 13 is thus well protected because of the relatively small individual areas thereof that are exposed, the arrangement making it difficult for any instrument of substantial size being passed through therelatively narrow parts of the opening 17 and into breaking contact with the glass 18.

At an upper portion of the plate 13 and on the front face thereof, as seen inFigure 1, there is provided preferably by casting integrally with the frame 12, a lug 19 provided with a suitable opening passing there through in a horizontal direction. Secured to the lug 19 is a signaling member 2 0, made of a suitable metal, and shaped preferably to conform to the outline of the opening 17 through which the glass 18 is exposed, so that the member 20, when resting against the plate member 13, exposes through itself an opening substantially registering with outline of any. suitable shape but preferably, as is also shown in Figure 1, its exterior outline or edge 20b is substantially similar in shape to'the opening 20a. The member 20 is pivoted to the lug 19 by means of a pin 21, the latter passing through the upperends 20c and 206 of the member 20 and through the lug 19. The lug 19 and the upper ends 200 and 206 are, moreover, so shaped and related to each other that, though the member 20 may be swung toward or away from the plate 13 (about the pin 21 as an axis), the general outline or shape of the member 20 and the appearance thereof are substantially maintained.

. At its lower end portion the member 20 is provided with a suitable knob or handle 22 shaped to permit of a convenient grasping thereof by the fingers of the hand and, as seen in both Figures 2 and 3, a suitable protrusion 20f is provided on the member 20 on that side thereof remote from the bandle 22. This protrusion 20f is adapted to contact with and engage the front face of the plate 13. )Vhen it is desired to signal from the outside of the door to the inside thereof, the handle 22 is suitably grasped and the member 20 manipulated, about the axis of the pin 21, to swing the protrusion 20 into sound-making contact with the plate 13, as many such contacts being made as may be desired. Y

The portions 200 and 206 are, moreover,

' provided with inwardly directed projections as is indicated at 209 in Figure 2; these projections 209 are swung inwardly toward the plate 13 when the member 20, by wayv of the handle 22, is swung outwardly or away from the plate 13, and they thus act to limit the extent to which the member 20 can be swung away while permittingsubstantial range of movement to permit effective sound-making contact of the part 20 with the plate 13. Thus, it is impossible to swing the member 20'comp'letely away from'the plate 13 and likewise impossible to carry the member 20 out of its protective relation to the glass 18.

The member 20, as is better shown in Figures 2- and 3, is preferably of substantial thickness and it- 'thus forms a substantial frame around the opening 17 through which the glass 18 is exposed and addsmaterially to the protection of the glass 18 against forceful breakage. A The relatively small areas of the opening20a in the member 20 increase the difficulty of getting an implement of substantial size into breaking contact with'the glass 18 wh le the preferred substantial thicknessof the member 20 greatly increases the protection offered the glass 18 against being broken by a device or devices attempted to be applied to the glass 18 at an angle to the plane of the latter.

The glass 18 is preferably circular and is carried by a circular frame, preferably of metal, indicated at 23 (Figures 2 and 3).

Preferably the glass 18 is of the non-shattering-type of glass, being preferably made up of two sheets of glass secured together by a suitable binderysuch as, for example, transparent celluloid. vided with two upstanding lugs 24 (see igure 2) which are alined with two spaced upstanding lugs 25 cast integrally with the frame member 12 and projecting away therefrom on that side thereof which is on the inside of the door 10.

The glass 18 is covered by a closure member26 preferably of solid metal and suitably The frame 23 is roshaped" or rabbetted, as will be clear from The three pairs of spaced lugs 25, 24 and 27 are substantially alined and through them is passed a hinge pin 28; in between the innermost spaced lugs 27, a coiled spring- 29 is carried by the pin 28, the respective ends of the spring 29 being suitably shaped or connected to cause theclosure 26 to be yieldingly held in closing position, and thus also to yieldingly hold the glass 18 with its frame 23 seated within the ring-like frame 12. r

Preferably, the ring-like flange 14 of the frame 12 is provided with a substantially hook-shaped catch, 30 (see Figure 3) substantially diametrically opposite the lugs 25. The glass-carrying frame 23 is provided with a spring latch generally indicated at 31, the latter having a projecting member 32 adapted to snap under the hook 30 and having also a suitable handle portion 33 to permit the projecting member 32 to be swung away from and out of engagement with the hook 30. i

The closure member 26 is cut away as at 34 so that, when it swings intoclosing position .(as in Figures 1 and 2) it clears the latch construction 31, a suitable handle 35 being provided on the closure member 26 to permit the latter to be swung open manually against the action of the spring 29.

The mounting of the glass plate 18, as by way of its frame 23, and the opaque closure 26,-together with the pivotal mount.- ings thereof and the spring latch construction, are so proportioned and shaped that all the parts thereof fall within the outer periphery of the ring-like flange '14. (see Figure 2) so that, after the opening 11 has been made in the door 10, the entire device, already assembled, maybe attached to the door, the frame 23, closure 26, hinge mounting thereof, and the spring latch construction passing through'the opening. V

The uppermostear 15 (see Figure l) is extended upwardly and laterally as at 36 and is provided with an aperture 37 of elongated shape. Moreover, the extended portion 36 is suitably cut away or initially cast, as at 38 (see Figure 2) to permit a suitable name card to be inserted and held in back of the aperture 37. The card, it will be noted, will be interposed between the parts 36 and the door 10, as will be clear from Figure 2.

The use of the device will perhaps be clear in view of the above, but it might here be noted that the parts exposed on the outside of the door (as seen in. Figure 1) and the closure 26 are preferably of the same metal or are preferably given the same color or finish so that when the parts are in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, the glass 18 is quite inconspicuous and the device, as

viewed from the exterior of the door, pre-- sents the appearance of, and suggests nothing more than, a simple signaling device such as a door knocker. 7 Upon thecaller having operated the signaling device 20, the occupant on the inside of the door opensthe closure 26,'held in closedpositionby the spring29, and obtains a wide range of View, both horizontally and vertically, through the relatively small configuration of the opening 17, being protectedby the glass 18.

Having observed the caller and assuming that theoccupant desires not to admit him, the occupant simply closes thesclosure 26-, having effected an observation of the caller unobserved and'unsuspected by the latter. On the other hand, should the occupant desire to converse with the caller, the occupant, after having'observedthe caller through'the glass 18, operates the spring latch 31 and swings open the frame 23 which carriesthe glass 18; conversation maythus be carried on and even small articles, such as small mail matter, telegrams, or the like, passed through the opening 17 in the plate 13. 1 7 It will thus be seen that there has been provided in this invention a signaling and observing or intercommunicating device in which the several ob ectsherelnabove noted,

as well as many thoroughly practical advanpractical. use. The device presents an at-,

tractive and ornamental appearance and makes possible unobtrusive and unobserved observation from the inside of a door of a caller seeking admission and, moreover, should such observation bedetected by the caller, the occupant is dependably and reliably protected against attempts to cause injury through the observation opening.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or. shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim; 7 V j 1. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a frame having an annular portion adapted to pass through around opening in a door, said frame having a front plate extending across the front of said annular portion, the portion of said plate within the compass of said annular portion having an aperturetherein and portions of said plate overlapping said annular portion laterally and adapted to rest against the outer face of the door, .said aperture having a shape substantially like that ofa cross, a circular frame carrying a glass plate hingedly se-' cured to said frame and adapted to be seated into said annular portion, thereby to'present said glass plate across said aperture and in back of said front'plate 'a signaling member substantially cross-shaped and having an aperture therein substantially crossshaped and of a size Commensurate with that of the aperture in said front plate; means pivotally securing said signaling member adjacent its upper end to said first-mentioned frame for holding said member in a position so that said two apertures substantially register; and means limiting the swinging movement of said signaling member in a direction away from said front plate.

2. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a plate-like member adapted to be secured over an opening in a door; a signaling member hingedly secured to said plate member and having means adapted to permit of manual actuation of said signaling member, said signaling member having an aperture therein and said plate member having therein an aperture of substantially the same size and shape as said first-mentioned aperture and said apertures being in substantial registry; and means for securing said plate to said door in a position such that said two apertures are substantially over the opening in saiddoor.

3. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a frame having an annular'portion adapted to pass into a round opening in a door and having a front plate-like member adapted to be exposed on the outerside of the door and having an aperture therein; a signaling member movably supported by said frame and overlapping said plate-like member on the outer face thereof, said signaling member having an aperture therethrough to prevent obscuring of the aperture in said plate-like member, said signaling. member having a finger piece adapted to permit manual actuation thereoffor signaling purposes; a transparent member extending across the aperture in said platelike member and carriedjby said annular portion of said frame; and means having substantially the same color effect as said plate-like member for covering at will said transparent member from the inside face thereof.

L. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a frame having an annular portion adapted to pass into a round opening in a door and having a front plate-like member adapted to be exposed on the outer side of the door and having an aperture therein; a signaling 'member movably supported by said frame and overlapping said plate-like member on the outer face thereof, said signaling member having an aperture therethrough to prevent obscuring of the aperture in said plate-like member, said signaling member having a finger piece adapted to permit manual actuation thereof for signaling purposes, a transparent member extending across the aperture in said plate-like member and carried by said annular portion of said frame; and an opaque member 'hingedly carried by said frame for covering other so that together they form a frame defining the shape of the field of vision through said transparent member; and means for securing said plate member to said door so that said aperture is over the opening in said door.

6. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a; plate-like member adapted to be secured to the outer face of a door and over an opening therein, said plate-like member having an aperture therein; a transparent member closing said aperture; an upstanding lug on the outer face of said plate-like member; a signaling member hingedly-secured to said lug and adapted to be manually actuated, said signaling member and said lug being shaped and related to each other so that together they form a frame defining the shape of the field of vision through said transparent member; and means for limiting the extent of swinging movement of said signaling member in a direction away fro .1 said plate member.

7. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a frame member having an aperture therein and adapted to bev secured over an opening in a door; a signaling member carried by said frame member, said signaling means being shaped to substantially extend about the periphery of said aperture; means movably mounting said signaling member on said frame. member to permit manual actuation thereof; an opaque member on that side of said frame member remote from the side on which said signaling member is mounted for covering the aperture in said frame member, said opaque member being supported to permit said aperture to be uncovered; and means for securing said frame member to a door with the aperture therein over the opening in said door.

' S. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a frame member having an aperture therein and adapted to be secured over an opening in a door, said aperture having an outline formed by an upper horizontal line and curved lines connectedthereto; an upstanding lug on the front face of-said frame member and substantially alined with the upper horizontal line bounding said aperture; a signaling member pivotally attached to said lug and having curved portions extending about the periphery of said aperture; and means for securing said frame member to a door.

t). In a device of the character described, in combination, a door having an opening therein, means on one side of said door having an aperture therein extending over said opening; a signaling member pivotally secured on said side of said door, said signaling member being shaped to overlap said means but to permit sighting through said aperture and said signaling means; and means for closing said aperture from the other side of said door, said means including a transparent member, an opaque memher, and means mounting said opaque memher to permit said transparent member to be covered or uncovered.

10. In a device of the character described, in combination, a door having an opening therein, means on one side of said door having an aperture therein extending over said opening; a signaling member pivotally seing member being shaped to overlap said means but to permit sighting through said aperture and said signaling means; and an opaque member, operable from the other side of sand door, tor closing or uncoveringsaid aperture. 7

11. In a devlce of the Character described,

in combination, a door having an opening therein; means secured to said door and having an aperture therein over said opening; a signaling member movably carried by said door, said signaling member having opposed portions between which said aperture is exposed; and means mounted on that side of the door remote from the side on which said signaling member is mounted for closing or exposing said aperture.

12. In a device of the character described,

in combination, a door having an opening and means permitting movement of said cured on said side of said door, said signaldirected slit-like extension and having also a horizontally directed slit-like extension for. giving respectively vertical and horizontal sighting ranges; a signaling member of subopening in a door and having an aperture in the portion thereof over said opening, said aperture being of substantially less area than the area of the opening in said door and having a verticallyextending branch and a horizontally extending branch'forirespective vertical and horizontal sighting ranges; a round frame member having a round sheet of glass therein, said frame member being pivoted to said plate-like member to permit covering and uncovering of said aperture from the inside of the door; and a signaling member mounted. for lim ited movement. toward or away from the outer face of said plate-like member and shaped to substantially follow the periphery of said aperture so as not to obstruct sighting through the latter.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specificationthis 4th day of December, 1928.

HENRY F. KEIL.

opaque member into vision-obstructing or r vision-permitting position.

13. In an attachment for doors, in combination, a plate-like member having an aperture therein and adapted to be secured to a face of a door having an opening therethrough, said aperture having a vertically CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,991,303. March 14, 1933.

HENRY F. KEIL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 100, after "and" insert the words operation of which, in its preferred form, and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of May, A. i). 1933.

M. J. Moore.

(Sea!) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

